All these buildings are familiar and i've seen them, but I don't know their names. I haven't been to Gokuldham for a while now because I finished my 12th grade in March, so don't know much about the haunted towers either.

All these buildings are familiar and i've seen them, but I don't know their names. I haven't been to Gokuldham for a while now because I finished my 12th grade in March, so don't know much about the haunted towers either.

MUMBAI: In what is perhaps the biggest joint venture on private mill land, the Thackerseys, owners of Hindoostan Spinning and Weaving Mills, have tied up with the CL Raheja group to exploit a whopping nine lakh sq feet of real estate at Jacob Circle near Mahalaxmi station.

With this joint venture, more than 20 lakh sq ft of development is expected to come up in a one sq km radius in the Mahalaxmi-Jacob Circle-Saat Rasta area as the proprietors of Brady Mills are also scouting around to develop 4 lakh sq ft.

"Once these projects come up, there will be tremendous strain on the infrastructure," a property consultant said, pointing to the traffic jams in the area, especially on the Mahalaxmi station bridge.

Industry sources told Times News Network that an agreement between the Thackerseys and the Raheja group was almost through and a public notice was recently issued notifying any person having a claim to or right in this property to come forward within seven days.

The Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction cleared the mill's development proposal on April 1,which had earlier been held up due to legal complications.

While Ravi Raheja, director of KRaheja Corp, refused to comment, senior vice-president (finance) of the Thackersey group M P Ghaisas said that the land would be developed for both residential and commercial use.

The BMC's building proposal department has already cleared the construction of two residential high-rises on a part of the land. "Each building will have five wings and 23 floors," a civic official said.

Market sources claimed a shopping mall was also in the pipeline. "There are possible plans for a Shoppers' Stop or Giant (belong-ing to the RPG group) setting up a branch here," property watchers said.

About a decade ago, a portion of Hindoostan Mills' land was allowed to be developed for the construction of the 39-storey Kalpataru Heights, a skyscraper that has become a prominent landmark on the central Mumbai skyline.

Slum capital of India. Death of a city. Metropolis choked. Mumbai's been so defined, time and again. But she survives. And she flourishes. Recently, IT czar Azim Premji expressed his concern about the lack of infrastructure in Bangalore. Possible relocation to Mumbai? Why not? Presenting Mumbai as you've never seen her before -- seductress!

Bangalore and Hyderabad, who'd been hogging most of the techie attention until now, are suddenly facing the wrath of IT bigwigs like Wipro head honcho Azim Premji. Frustrated with Bangalore's poor infrastructure, high rates of employee attrition and fat salary bills, Premji recently stated that Wipro's future investments may be made outside Bangalore for "there are opportunities outside Karnataka where talent is available, infrastructure is better and wages are lower." Here's Mumbai's big chance to consolidate it's status as India's commercial capital.

The city's resurgence is being pushed by none other than the Maharashtra government. A mega strategy is being heralded, backed with a strong implementation plan. Consider this. The Mumbai Trans Harbour Link will be kickstarted soon, connecting Sewri to Nhava Sheva. The much-delayed Versova-Andheri-Ghatkopar Light Rail System is being rejuvenated. The deadlock over the Wadala Truck Terminus is being resolved and beach town Gorai is all set to become a mega Special Entertainment Zone.

Will political changes affect the momentum of these initiatives? "An autonomous Citizen's Action Group (CAG) is already created, which will meet four times a year to monitor progress," asserts Sanjay Ubale, member secretary, Mumbai task force.

Also, with full-time electricity and professional work ethics, its advantage Mumbai. And the shift is visible. With the emergence of the Mumbai-Pune-Nashik triangle, manufacturing jobs are moving out and the city is now being promoted by the state government as a service centre, its primary focus banking, IT, biotech and entertainment.

Can it get any better than this?

Mumbai, meri jaan...

Neeraj Roy, CEO, hungama.com : Seepz, Andheri, was constructed 15 years ago and after that there has been no new infrastructure. Mumbai can become a regional player in the hardware market thanks to our strategic location. Navi Mumbai can pose a challenge to Gurgao
n as a BPO hub.

Alyque Padamsee, member, CAG : Since there are people like Anand Mahindra, Jamshyed Godrej, Noel Tata and credible NGOs, my faith in the action plan of Mumbai is firm. But it is a giant task. Quality of life is my buzzword for the government. Corporate India should run Mumbai.

Vijay Mahajan, CEO, Bombay First : The formation of the Mumbai Development Fund, is a good sign. Funds can be raised from the Centre, state government, BMC etc. It is based on the ringed sense theory i.e. money from this fund cannot be diverted elsewhere.

How well do you know me?

Till the end of the Second World War, the city covered only about 67 sq km from Colaba to Mahim and Sion. In 1950, the city expanded northward with the inclusion of portions of Salsette Island, and by 1957 a number of suburban towns -- including Bandra, Andheri, Malad and Borivali -- and some villages of Thane were incorporated into Greater Bombay, with an area of 169 square miles (434 sq km).

Take a look at me now
Investors, take note. Mumbai's never seemed so promising

Health: The BMC, state government, charitable trusts and private owners are all offering state-of-the-art health facilities. Official estimates say the city has 33,000 beds, four tertiary care hospitals, several peripheral hospitals. Many speciality and super-speciality hospitals are spread across town, from Mulund in the north to South Mumbai, with high quality equipment.

Infrastructure: 24 hour operation of the suburban railway is a boon. A dedicated BEST bus lane is to be intitiated on major routes. The state government is working on a metro rail plan. MSRDC is firm on completing the West Island Freeway connecting Bandra to Nariman Point by a sea bridge, despite the teething problems. The four lane Mumbai-Nashik highway will connect the two satellite towns faster. Both the eastern and western highways are up for expansion, and ready to be converted into six lanes on each side. 50,000 houses are expected to be built for slumdwellers in the next six months under MUTP, MUIP project. "We are working on the limited period tenancy policy to promote rental housing. Also, income tax concessions for those renting out premises is being considered. All the civic laws are being looked into again to create a vibrant retail policy to make the city an attractive investment destination," adds Ubale.

Entertainment Hub: Home to Bollywood, with multiplexes springing up all across the suburban stretch of the city that has triggered off a revolution that's low on moolah and high on idea. That apart, the city offers a nightlife with pubs, discos, lounge bars and innumerable restaurants offering every imaginable cuisine. Mumbai also has a Film City that facilitates outdoor shootings and a state government that's making efforts to woo potential filmmakers to consider the city for shooting locations.

Business Districts: Beyond Nariman Point and Ballard Estate, Mumbai is buzzing with new hubs. Parel is developing as an infotainment destination, complete with hotels, malls and sport bars. Bandra-Kurla Complex has ensured the rates in Nariman Point fall and Andheri-Kurla is all about more space and less price. With a new elevated road planned, as an arm to the Andheri flyover, reaching the international airport, the situation on the Central Business District front looks upbeat.

Mumbai, July 22: THE first hurdle in the National Textile Corporation’s (NTC) grand project to develop prime mill land comes from unexpected quarters—a former architect of the company and a pending petition in the Bombay High Court.

Moreshwar Kelkar’s grouse against the NTC is not new. His petition was filed in 2003, challenging the corporation’s process of selection of architects by inviting tenders.

Kelkar claims he has been working on the NTC project for the last 22 years and has dues worth Rs 35 lakh pending from the government undertaking.

Kelkar’s petition is awaiting a final order. ‘‘So far, the NTC has not even bothered to file a reply to the petition but an ad interim order of the high court granted a stay on the work for the NTC,’’ said Kelkar’s advocate, Ajit Jakhadi.

Kelkar is now planning to move for a notice of motion asking the court to restrain the undertaking from going ahead with its plans. His plea maintains that the NTC’s proceedings at this stage would amount to contempt of court.

The petition alleges that Kelkar was appointed by the NTC, had held various meetings with the government and the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation as an NTC architect and even submitted a detailed report on development and sale of surplus land for the NTC.

Kelkar had also submitted to the court a letter signed by the NTC’s chief managing director, dealing with the terms of payment to the petitioner as a consulting architect.

THE National Textile Corporation is a Central public sector undertaking. It recently invited Expressions of Interest from leading real estate consultants and developers for the development of the surplus land of its 20 textile mills in the prime localities of Dadar, Lalbaug and Parel for residential or government purposes.

Bombay Dyeing is restructuring its textile business and will be eventually moving out its mill operations from the high-cost manufacturing place in Mumbai to a site in Maharashtra. "We see real estate development as a opportunity and we want to create this as a different enterprise and business model,"Wadia said.

The company will be developing a commercial and residential complex at its plant locations in Dadar and Worli. As the first step, the textile manufacturing activity is being consolidated at the Textile Mill, Worli and the manufacturing activity at Spring Mill at Dadar is being wound down.

Later, the company intends to move out its entire operations from Worli to a low-cost operations area in Maharashtra. It is understood that it is considering two destinations Talegaon or Ranjangaon in Maharashtra. The company has obtained the necessary clearances to develop 4.5 million square feet area and will be investing Rs 75-80 crore towards developing the land. The company has given voluntary retirement scheme (VRS) to the 1,500 employees and has spend Rs 56 crore towards this.

Kshatriya.. We all know sooner or later Mumbai is going to take over from Hyderabad, Bangalore. It was just a matter of time Mumbai was gonna get serious about infrastructure. Looks like they are. I dont think there is any city that can compete with Mumbai. It is truly a mother of all indian cities.